An Analysis of Olaudah Equianos The Middle Passage

Middle Passage by Olaudah Equiano One of the most interesting arguments that modern apologists makes for the practice of race-based slavery in the Americas is the fact that slavery existed in Africa during that time period and that Africans were complicit in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. What is fascinating about Olaudah Equianos discussion of the Middle Passage is that, as a man who had been enslaved in Africa prior to being shipped as a slave to the Americas, he was in a unique position to describe slavery in Africa with his introduction to European-influenced slavery in North America. His perception was that the immense brutality of the Middle Passage foreshadowed the dehumanization of slaves in the Americas, which was more inhumane than the treatment he had received as a slave while in Africa. Furthermore, he did not suggest that this brutality was linked to the race of the traders, though that seemed to have been his initial impression, but to the nature of the Trans-Atlantic trade. Therefore, Equianos writin gs suggest that shipping Africans across the ocean for slavery was part of the dehumanizing process that helped fuel the practice of slavery in America. Initially, Equiano had a tremendous amount of worry related to the appearance of the slave traders and that initial discomfort was based upon racial differences. Their complexions too differing so much from ours, their long hair, and the language they spoke, (which was very different from any I had everShow MoreRelatedEarly Slavery; Middle Passage, and Other.1508 Words   |  7 Pagestherefore he was more merciful. 3. The Middle Passage is the journey the abducted slaves undertook while going to the new world. This trip was treacherous for these African people because they were forced to live in unsanitary conditions, confined to chains, whipped and tortured. Analysis Thomas Phillips was the captain commander of the ship called the Hannibal. On this journey he picked up his slaves and made this journey known as the middle passage. This document shows how the experience thisRead MoreAnalysis of a Primary Document: The Slaving Voyage of the Albion-Frigate984 Words   |  4 PagesAnalysis of a Primary Document: â€Å"The Slaving Voyage of the Albion-Frigate† 1. Who wrote the document? The author of this document was Jacques Barbot. He was born into a Protestant family around 1650 in Saint-Martin, France. Barbot’s family business was maritime trade, so he was bound to continue the family name in commerce. Barbot and his younger brother were both involved in commercial trade when they were young, his brother being a part of the African slave trade. 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When this happened, their authentic cultures were drastically changed from the way of life in their native homelands in Africa to life in the plantation society of the American colonies. In this essay, I will attempt to show how the enslaved Africans’ authentic culture was immensely disrupted by using the â€Å"Culture Conflict Model† as a guide. To aid in my analysis, I willRead MoreOlaudah Equiano s Influence On African Diaspora History1941 Words   |  8 Pages In 1745, Olaudah Equiano was born in Eboe, which is now Nigeria. When he was about eleven years old, he was kidnapped and sold to slave traders heading to the West Indies. Though he spent a short time in the state of Virginia, much of his time in slavery was spent serving the captains of slave ships and British navy vessels. One of his masters, Henry Pascal, the captain of a British trading vessel, gave him the name Gustavas Vassa, which he hardly used throughout his life. Paul Lovejoy, CanadaRead MoreBibliographic Essay on African American History6221 Words   |  25 Pagestwo examples. For a first-hand account by Middle Passage survivors, see Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano: Written by Himself, edited by Robert J. Allison (Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin s Press, 1995). Questions regarding the veracity of Equiano’s richly detailed book, which is not at variance with others on the subject, surfaced soon after it appeared in 1787. Vincent Carretta’s â€Å"Olaudah Equino or Gustavus Vassa? New Light on an Eighteenth-Century